


Three Thousand and One

by Spannah339



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame, Gen, You Have Been Warned, endgame spoilers, this is not a happy fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-10 15:01:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18662749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spannah339/pseuds/Spannah339
Summary: A fic covering Morgan Stark as she grows up after Endgame. There are spoilers.





	Three Thousand and One

Morgan Stark could have anything in the world she wanted. The daughter of a superhero, the child of the Avengers. Heir of a legacy started with her grandfather and kept burning brightly with her father. She had all the money she needed. She never needed to fear hunger, or hurt, or lack of anything. She had a family of superpowered people surrounding her, protecting her, playing with her. 

Morgan Stark could have anything in the world she wanted but the one thing she wanted the most. 

When she was five years old the comfortable world she had lived in for her whole life changed. She was too young to know just how much the world had changed - all she knew was her family grew larger, and yet so much smaller. 

When she was seven years old, her teacher told them that they would be making father’s day cards in class. She went home that afternoon, and with the help of Peter, sat up late into the night making cards. The next day, she handed them out. Uncle Happy cried. Uncle Rhodey had to hide his face. Uncle Bruce lifted her onto his good shoulder and carried her triumphantly around the room. Uncle Clint and Uncle Scott proudly displayed her cards with the cards their children had made. Uncle Bucky ruffled her hair and Uncle Sam grinned at her. If she had stayed up far past her bedtime - well, she was simply carrying on another great Stark tradition, wasn’t she? 

She didn’t show anyone the card she kept hidden under her pillow, the scribbled picture of fading memories, the wobbly handwriting of a child reading “I lov you 3,000, Dady.” 

When she was ten years old, they had a bring your father to school day. After some consideration and discussion with her mother, Morgan brought her stories. Not all of them, of course, some were too special - some she needed to keep to herself and her family. But she brought the stories she had spent the last five years hearing. Stories about a great hero, a man who had sacrificed his everything for a better world. She brought the family picture, the picture of the three of them before the world had changed. And clutching it close to her, she closed her eyes and told the stories. Later, she smugly told Harley that her teacher had been crying. He smiled softly and said that five years ago the whole world had been crying. 

When she was fourteen years old, she wanted more. So she took to the internet - it wasn’t hard to find him. He had been an Avenger - he had been one of the most famous people in the world. She stayed up late, headphones pressed over her ears as she watched him. She watched interviews and talks, vlogs of his experiments and work, footage of him in action with the other Avengers. She rewatched all the messages he had left them until she knew them by heart and yet it still wasn’t enough. When the Guardians of the Galaxy visited next, Nebula found out. Nebula knew her too well for Morgan to keep any secrets from her. But instead of accusing her or telling her off - Nebula shared her memories and for a moment, watching the flicking image of her father in that distant and long ago spaceship Morgan felt like she could reach out and touch him. 

When she was eighteen, her mother pulled her aside and gave her the most precious gift of all. 

“He made this for you, the night he left,” she said quietly. “He wanted to be there for your eighteenth birthday, even if he never made it home. Just hit the button when you’re reading.” Kissing Morgan’s forehead, Pepper left the room, leaving Morgan alone with the last memory of her father. 

She slowly reached out and touched the button, unsure for what she wanted. What she feared. 

The familiar face of her father appeared, faintly blue but unmistakably him. Morgan held her breath, suddenly aware that this was new - new footage, new memories. 

“Hey, kid,” he began. He was seated in the same way as the other memory he left - she had seen that so many times she could tell he had recorded them both at the same time. “If you happen to see this, you made it to eighteen and that is not allowed because right now you’re a five year old kid sleeping in your bed upstairs. At least I hope you’re sleeping.” He shifted, glancing up and Morgan felt a small smile dance across her lips. 

“Anyway, with any luck, you won’t have to see this. But the thing is, I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.” He chuckled slightly. “You do, though, don’t you? For you, my tomorrow is years in the past.” He fell silent again, tapping his fingers together for a moment. 

“Look, Morgan. What I want to say is - I’m sorry. Because if you’re seeing this, it means that I didn’t make it. And I’m okay with that - comes with the job description of being an Avenger, right? But I’m sorry you had to grow up without a father. I’m sorry all you have of me is faint memories and old recordings. I wish…” he trailed off and fell silent, softly wiping an eye. Morgan echoed the action, feel a trickle of water roll down her face. “I will do anything I can to get home to you, okay kid? But if I don’t - know that I love you. You’ve made the past five years the best years of my life.” 

He shifted and seemed to look directly into her eyes. 

“Morgan Stark, I love you three thousand and one,” he said softly and Morgan realised that this was the first time he had ever spoken directly to her. All her gathered recordings and videos she had of him were never for  _her_. But here he was, the night before he went to an uncertain future that led to death. The night before he saw her for the last time. And he had taken the time to make a present for her. He spoke to her from thirteen years ago and Morgan had never felt closer to her father. 

She cried. She couldn’t help it - it was strange to miss someone she barely knew. But she didn’t just miss her father. She missed the relationship they could have had. She missed the chance to stay up late tinkering with him. To create her own suit of armour and join him in the sky. To talk to him over breakfast and share a conspirator's midnight snack when her mother was sleeping. She missed all the little things she would never be able to experience. 

Morgan Stark could have anything in the world that she wanted but one thing. She could have items or experiences or gifts. She was the safest girl in the world, she was never needed to want for anything. She could have expensive cars or fancy clothes or become her own superhero. 

But Morgan Stark could never have her father.  


End file.
